4 Best Hotels in Troncones, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo

The House of the Smiling Dolphin was one of the first hotels in Troncones, and it remains a small, family-friendly place with a bright exterior and personalized service. Downstairs rooms are sparsely decorated with Mexican crafts, but each is different. The two upstairs suites have chairs and shelves filled with books; they don't have air-conditioning, but fans and breezes off the water keep things cool. If you like, you can buy produce from the truck that passes in front of the hotel and prepare it in the communal kitchen. There are plenty of surfboards for rent, and it's a good place to take them out, since there can be excellent beach breaks.

Each bungalow at this homey haven has a patio with hammocks, table, and chairs, and there's also a house with a full kitchen, two bedrooms, two baths, and a long porch looking right onto the sand and waves—not to mention a coterie of friendly cats who call the property home. All guests have access to a communal kitchen and dining room, as well as barbecue facilities and a cozy reading nook with shelves packed full of beachy paperbacks.

This hotel about 6 km (4 miles) north of Troncones is best suited to travelers who want seclusion; there are few neighboring hotels. But with a bar and a restaurant (that mainly serves fresh seafood and Mexican dishes), many guests feel they have everything they need on the resort grounds. Even the simple, clean bungalows feel private, as they're in palapas separated from other palapas by redbrick footpaths and well-manicured lawns.

This small, cheerful beachfront boutique hotel owned by a mother and her two daughters sits right in the center of town, across from the wonderful La Mexicana restaurant. The atmosphere is laid-back and sociable: an outdoor wood-burning oven is fired up for community pizza nights, and an intimate palapa lounge near the small infinity pool encourages sunset socializing. Rooms are done up in bright colors with wood furnishings and open-beam ceilings; each one has its own small patio and private open-air bathroom.